Tag: Sara Hodges

The Relationship Between Students’ Approach to Learning and Future Thinking in a Science Class

Presenter: Madeleine Smith – Neuroscience, Psychology, and Educational Foundations

Faculty Mentor(s): Jenefer Husman, Sara Hodges

Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation

Supporting student motivation in post-secondary introductory science courses is an important step in increasing student retention in STEM fields. Prior research has focused on a variable- centered approach to students’ motivation to learn, but a person-centered approach to looking at the relationship between self-regulated learning and motivation variables is necessary. Additionally, research suggests that students’ future goals and their perception of the future influences their performance in school. This study aimed to identify the relationship between future thinking and motivational and self-regulated learning profiles. 385 participants were recruited from an introductory science course at a large Northwest university and completed an online self-report survey on their motivation, goal orientation, self-regulation, knowledge building strategies, and future thinking. K-means cluster analysis indicated that there are three motivational and self-regulated learning profiles. A multinomial logistic regression was conducted and showed that students’ actions towards their future goals are a stronger predictor of their profile adoption than the clarity of their future goals. Understanding the relationship between students’ future thinking and their adoption of learning profiles can help post-secondary science instructors alter course structure to support student motivation and self-regulated learning.

Reoccurring Goal Monitoring Display Design: Effects on Completion Rates, Motivation, and Emo- tional Affect

Presenter : Molly Martini

Mentor : Sara Hodges

Major : Psychology

Poster 24

Reoccurring goals, such as exercising every other day, are important for health and work-life balance, yet seem to be quickly disre- garded as soon as other deadlines and daily stressors enter our lives. Given that information presentation affects how one processes and acts upon the information, could a different display design other than a standard weekly planner increase an individual’s chances of completing his or her goals? Specifically, could a visual object display lead to increased motivation and more goal completions com- pared to a text based display? Three different goal monitoring tools were created to answer this question: an Android app that shows goals as squares that visually stretch out as goal deadlines approach, another Android app that lists the goals and their deadlines by text, and a paper planner consisting of two calendar weeks. Participants were randomly assigned one of these three tools and asked to monitor their own reoccurring goals for two weeks, completing nightly questionnaires asking about motivation level, goal completion, and affect. It is predicted that the visual app will lead to more goal completions, higher motivation, and higher levels of both positive and negative affect compared to the two text conditions. Data analysis has yet to take place, but will be completed by May 16, 2013. Importantly, the study may suggest new ways in which display design can be utilized to help people achieve personal reoccurring goals.

Moralization of Smoking in Germany and the U.S.

Presenter: Jessica Montgomery

Mentor: Sara Hodges 

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology/German

Cigarette smoking has become increasingly moralized over the last half-century. Moralization is the process by which moral value is attached to objects and activities that were previously morally irrelevant. Moralization of smoking is an individual-level phenomenon (reflected in an individual’s attitudes towards smoking) as well as a cultural-level phenomenon (reflected in anti-smoking policies). We studied moralization of smoking in two cultural contexts (Eugene, Oregon and Tübingen, Germany). We chose Germany because smoking is more prevalent there than in the U.S. (World Health Organization, 2011) and although culture and laws are changing in Germany toward greater prohibition of smoking, it seems that new antismoking laws are weakly or sporadically enforced (Wiesel, 2009). Participants were asked by research assistants on and around university campuses to complete a questionnaire in their native language while the research assistant waited. The questionnaire included questions about moralization of cigarette smoking and related constructs, beliefs about smokers’ volitional control over smoking, prejudice against smokers, and support for anti-smoking policy. In this way we measured the attitudes that lead to relevant real-world outcomes such as differential treatment of cigarette smokers. We will compare their responses cross culturally as well as divide them into smokers and nonsmokers, in order to establish which factors affect their perceptions. We predict that Germans will moralize smoking less than Americans, which we expect to find after analyzing the results from the questionnaires.

The Effects of Gender and Status When Talking About Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

Presenter: Megan Bruun

Mentor: Sara Hodges, Psychology

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology 

The amount that an individual talks in a conversation is influenced by gender and status. Within STEM fields, gender and status may be confounded because of women’s underrepresentation. The analysis of talkativeness in STEM fields allows for a better understanding and discussion of this male-dominated environment. In this study, dyads (n = 77) made up of undergraduates and graduate students in the same STEM discipline talked about the undergraduates’ prospects for graduate school. The conversations were videotaped and later coded for percentage of time that the undergraduate and graduate student spent talking during the conversation. It is predicted that females in these dyads will talk less because of their minority status in STEM fields. However, in same sex dyads, because of their higher status, graduate student will talk more than undergraduates.

The Role of Self Doubt and Empathic Accuracy in STEM Fields

Presenter: Kristina Lowney

Faculty Mentor: Sara Hodges, Gail Unruh

Presentation Type: Poster 26

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: Psychology

Funding Source: McNair Scholarship, McNair Scholarship Program

In their daily interactions, people demonstrate varying levels of empathic accuracy, a construct that refers to people’s ability to accurately infer the thoughts and feelings of others. This study examines whether feelings of self-doubt impact empathic accuracy, particularly in women, when they are interpreting feedback in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Women are underrepresented in the STEM fields as they choose not to continue their studies or not even pursue STEM fields at all. One reason for this trend might be attributed to how they interpret feedback in the domain. Seventy-two dyads composed of graduate and undergraduate students in STEM fields were recruited and held recorded conversations to discuss graduate school. Graduate students provided feedback to undergraduates interested in attending graduate school in a related field. Undergraduate students were asked about their feelings of self doubt, and they were also asked to infer the graduate student’s thoughts regarding the undergraduate’s future prospects in graduate school. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between male and female undergraduates for self doubt or empathic accuracy. These findings are considered in terms of other possible underlying factors contributing to women’s underrepresentation in STEM.

Reducing Stigmatizing Attitudes toward Veterans with PTSD: The Impact of Empathic Engagement with Fictional Literature

Presenter: Rebecca Howard

Faculty Mentor: Brianna Delker, Sara Hodges

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Science

Major: Psychology, English

Combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses are becoming more prevalent, but fewer than half of veterans diagnosed with PTSD seek treatment. Stigmatizing attitudes toward military veterans with combat- related PTSD prevents veterans from seeking treatment. Fictional literature may serve as an efficient, accessible way to increase personal experience with, and empathy toward, individuals diagnosed with a mental health disorder. In prior research, increased levels of empathic engagement with fictional literature (i.e., “transportation” into the text) has been associated with increased reports of empathy for others. In this study, undergraduate participants (N=450) were randomly assigned to read one of three passages: a fictional literature passage about PTSD, a nonfiction passage about PTSD, or a fiction control passage (i.e., not about PTSD). Afterwards, self-report surveys assessed stigmatizing attitudes toward people with PTSD, empathic concern for the character in the vignette, and transportation into
the text. We hypothesized that the fictional PTSD (vs. nonfiction PTSD) passage would decrease stigmatizing attitudes toward people with PTSD. We also hypothesized that the fictional PTSD (vs. fiction control) passage would increase empathic concern toward the character in the vignette and that this effect would be mediated by increased transportation into the text. Analysis of covariance revealed that the fictional PTSD passage was associated with more pity toward people with PTSD than the nonfiction PTSD passage, F(1, 243) = 5.16, p = .024. Empathic concern for the character was greater with the fictional PTSD passage than the fictional control passage, F(1,211) = 77.45, p < .001. Transportation into the text partially mediated the effect of the fictional passages on empathic concern, B = .15, SE = .03, 95% CI [.10, .22].

The Academic Climate of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fields: How Stereotypes Influence Perceptions

Presenter: Ruth Grenke

Faculty Mentor: Sara Hodges

Presentation Type: Oral

Primary Research Area: Social Science

Major: Psychology, Philosophy

Despite recent progress toward gender equality, women continue to be systematically underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. One reason for this disparity is found in the academic culture surrounding STEM fields. Within this culture, pervasive beliefs exist that men, more frequently than women, are born with the innate ability required to succeed in STEM fields. In the face of these stereotypes, women in STEM fields are not only told they are at a natural disadvantage, but also that the incremental improvement that may come with experience is no substitute for innate talent. In the current study, female and male undergraduate and graduate students in the same STEM field were paired and instructed to have a conversation about the undergraduate’s interest in pursuing graduate school. Recruitment methods consisted primarily of emails to STEM departments and emails to STEM students on the University’s honor roll. We hypothesize that participants who endorse a belief in innate models of intelligence will give lower ratings of female undergraduates’ qualification for graduate school across three variables: undergraduates’ self-assessments of their qualification, graduates’ assessments of undergraduates’ qualification, and meta-assessments in which undergraduates guess how graduates rated their qualification. We found that endorsing a belief in innate theory of intelligence was associated with lower self- and meta-assessments of female undergraduates’ qualification for graduate school, but this effect was not found for graduates’ assessments of female undergraduates’ qualification.

The Influence of Women’s Self-Perceptions of Ability and Effort Expenditure on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Field Persistence

Presenter(s): Samuel Ryan Adcock – Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Sara Hodges, Kathryn Denning

Poster 106

Research Area: Social Psychology

Women in the United States consistently drop out of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields at various points along the career pathway. While discrimination is an important factor, women’s self-perceived levels of natural ability and effort exertion relative to those of others in their field may lead to decreased future persistence in STEM. To discover whether these factors influence the decision to leave STEM at the undergraduate level, the current study used questionnaires to measure male and female undergraduates’ future persistence, field identification, and self-perceptions of ability and effort expenditure. We expect to find that low self-perceived natural ability as well as high self-perceived effort exertion relative

to peers will be associated with low future persistence, moderated by gender. However, we also expect to find that field identification will act as a buffer allowing for future persistence in spite of self-perceived low ability and high relative effort exertion. If confirmed, these findings will speak to the importance of conveying to women that gender does not influence STEM ability

Parsing Out Perspective Taking: The Impact of Narrative Point of View and Stereotyping on Social Relations

Presenter(s): Kate Haynes

Faculty Mentor(s): Sara Hodges & Kathryn Denning

Poster 98

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

Perspective taking is often regarded as a tool to improve social relations, but it can sometimes “backfire,” leading to negative outcomes (e.g., increased stereotyping). Most past research has examined the effect of instructing people to perspective take (or not) on various outcomes, but not what people consider when taking another person’s perspective. To better understand what causes this “backfiring,” we asked participants to write about the typical day of an out-group target (i.e., someone who supported the opposing candidate in the 2016 US Presidential Election) and then answer questions about social outcomes in relation to the target (e.g., how much they liked the target, willingness to engage in conversation with the target, and validity of the target’s position). Participants’ narratives were coded for the point of view (PoV) they were written in (first-person vs. third-person), degree of stereotyping present in the narrative, and overall valence (positive to negative) of content. Separate multiple regressions will be conducted using point of view, stereotyping, and valence, as well as a three-way interaction between all three variables, to predict social relations outcomes (liking, willingness to engage, and positive validity). First-person PoV, less stereotyping, and more positive valence are hypothesized to predict more positive social outcomes. However, an interaction is predicted such that first- person PoV will be associated with more negative social outcomes when degree of stereotyping is greater. Understanding when perspective taking brings people closer together – and when it does not – may help bridge current divides between political parties and other contentious groups.

Naturalistic Perspective Taking: Themes Found in People’s Naturalistic Accounts

Presenter(s): Clare Brinkman—Psychology

Faculty Mentor(s): Sara Hodges

Session 6: Cerebal Matters

The current body of psychology literature on perspective taking is largely made up of studies which instruct participants to take the perspective of another person . In order to better understand the circumstances under which unprompted perspective taking occurs, an online study (n = 238) was conducted to explore naturalistic accounts of everyday perspective taking . In this study, university student research participants were asked to write about a time, preferably in recent days, when they took the perspective of another person . Narratives were coded using a reliable coding scheme developed to capture the prevalence of and variation in the following elements: whose perspective was taken; what triggered the perspective taking; strategies mentioned (if any) for perspective taking; interpersonal or other outcomes of perspective taking; and use of perspective-taking metaphors (e .g ., use of visual or place metaphors) . Results will help shed light on when people think they engage in perspective taking, and may address whether these contexts are related to prosocial and interpersonal understanding outcomes associated with perspective taking .